Sword's Soul
by Akugi
Summary: AU: Kagome is the soul of Tetsusaiga, with the ability to grant her bearer any wish they choose. The only problem is her current bearer is a tempermental hanyou named Inu-Yasha...
1. Soul

Disclaimer - I don't own Inu-Yasha. If I did I think I could afford a mattress rather then using an airbed... *grumbles about cheap roommates who ruin mattresses then refuse to buy a new one for her*  
  
**author's note  
  
**I wrote this as a preliminary idea, if people like it I'll continue it with longer chapters (promise). If people don't like it I'll probably write a few more chapters to see if the opinion changes before dropping it entirely.  
  
  
  
  
**_Sword's Soul_**  
  
Tetsusaiga......  
  
The hanyou shivered with anticipation as the sacred sword of his father glowed in the afternoon sunlight. This moment was going to be perfect, this moment was going to be the first step towards his fate. Every battle he fought, every breathe he took, everything led him to take up the mantle of his father's power.  
  
Inu-Yasha moved forward slowly, his fingers twitching with nervousousness as they grasped the worn tattered wrappings that wound the pommel of the fang, of Tetsusaiga.   
  
Closing his eyes with pleasure as he tensed his muscles to pull the sword from the earth of his father's grave. He expected to hear the pleasant shing of metal springing free from its prison, he expected to wield the sudden weight of the sword he held firmly in his hand.   
  
He didn't expect a barrier to throw him across the chamber.   
  
He certainly didn't expect to hear a decidedly feminine voice ringing in his ears as he slid down the wall.  
  
Just **what** did you think you were doing?  
  
The voice was lilting, light and pleasant to his ears he cringed at the venom in her tone. Meekly rising from his defensive crouch he gazed silently at the young girl who stood by the sword he craved.   
  
Lovely. She was positively lovely. Ebony tresses swirled around her slender frame, caressing her alabaster pale skin with a lover's touch. Smokey gray eyes glared fiercely into his own, the pale translucent colors swirling with her emotions. Her hands were clenched into fists and balled firmly at her hips, the annoyed posture telling him this young woman was not pleased with him.  
  
Rising to his feet the young hanyou coughed nervously as he fidgeted with his scarlet red haori. Unsure of what to do with the sudden appearance of the young human in his father's graveyard.  
  
Might I ask how you came to be here? the hanyou queried cautiously, his eyes flicking over the strange flowing garb the girl wore. Shimmering lengths of white silk flowed from her delicate shoulders, concealing her in a shroud of star's light. The fabric caressed her figure with each movement she made, causing his eyes to do a great deal of wandering down the expanse of her body.  
  
The girl seemed taken aback at his question, puzzled almost. Her expression clouded over with consternation as her brow furrowed. Her voice was hesitant as she relaxed her pose of righteous anger, her eyes softening as she took in the hanyou's confused expression.   
  
You haven't heard of me? her voice was gentle, caressing his frayed nerves. At the hanyou's slow shaking of his head another frown briefly passed over her features. With a swirl of fabric she turned towards the sword, her hand gently caressing the pommel, casting a glance towards the approaching hanyou she allowed a sad smile to flicker over her lips.  
  
My name is Kagome, the soul of Tetsusaiga.  
  



	2. Kagome

Disclaimer - I don't own Inu-Yasha and co.  
  
  
Chapter Two - Kagome  
  
It wasn't her time yet...  
  
She could dimly feel pain still, pain from the body that lay crumpled on the ground as poisonous vapors ate away at its flesh. Pain from the dissolving body that wore her face, grimaced with pain. She hadn't taken the warnings seriously, even when the enigmatic youkai named Naraku returned with threats against her life she refused to acknowledge the threat.  
  
He wanted the jewel she carried, the jewel she had sworn to protect no matter the cost. This strange youkai who had such a dark aura wanted the Shikon no Tama for unknown reasons. Reasons Kagome could easily guess from the dark promises that always lurked in Naraku's eyes, promises of what he would do to not only her, but the world if he got his hands on Shikon no Tama.  
  
She was young for a bearer, young for the heavy responsibility of guarding the jewel of four souls. Spending her teenage years traveling from town to town, helping those she could with the powers the jewel granted her. Powers she had sworn to use for good, to purify an item drenched in blood and evil.   
  
The jewel had been evil, of this Kagome held no doubt. When the priests dissolved the jewel into her very being she felt the strange shadowy presence take hold in the back of her mind. A presence that whispered of past deeds that made her nights sleepless. Yet Kagome pressed on, refusing the darker calls of the Shikon jewel, forcing purity into it without mercy.   
  
She had been so close to fulfilling her duty, close to completing her task towards the jewel. The dark presence had faded to almost nothing, the powers of the jewel flowed smoothly at her call. She had almost banished the shadow from Shikon no Tama when Naraku appeared.  
  
She sensed him as he approached her camp, a dark oily aura that filled the air with nauseous fumes. The firelight cast warped shadows into the forest beyond, bringing memories of ghost stories to mind as the stars shrouded themselves behind the gathering clouds.  
  
Repressing the shudder of fear that yearned to ripple through her Kagome managed to smile warmly at her visitor, offering him a seat by her fire and a meal as if he was nothing more then another human. She could feel his strange unblinking eyes on her as she chattered to him of rumors and village news, keeping the silence between them to a minimum.  
  
Yet his patience made her attempts fruitless, as her words winded down into the occasionally question the stranger struck. His voice oozed over her like a polluted breeze, making her quake with fear despite her resolve to show nothing. He calmly introduced himself as Naraku, noting the fear in her expression with obvious pleasure. Naraku like making her fear him, he liked watching her hands tremble as she nervously clasped and unclasped them in her lap.  
  
He like watching the slow beginning of panic writhe in her eyes.  
  
He quietly demanded the Shikon no Tama, his demeanor making it clear he brooked no argument.   
  
Naraku didn't expect the ribbon of steel in Kagome's voice as she politely refused his request, her eyes betrayed nothing as she stared into the abyss of his gaze. He didn't expect her equally polite departure as she gathered her things and slipped into the forest depths with barely a sound, the bushes swallowing her slender form as she vanished among the silent trees.  
  
Yet no matter how far she traveled Naraku was there. She never felt him follow her, it was as if he knew her destination and awaited her arrival with a bored air tinged with malice. His demands for the jewel were constant, his messengers tailed her steps as she continued her travels despite him.   
  
Then came the final day, the moment he threatened her life for Shikon no Tama.   
  
Kagome had sworn vows, she allowed the sect of priests and priestesses that harbored the Shikon no Tama to place it into her body, she had been the protecter and bearer of the Shikon no Tama for years. Yet Kagome had never expected to truly face her vows like this, vows that bound her to the Shikon no Tama until she passed it on to another.   
  
When Naraku's poisonous fumes wrapped around her slender body she felt only fear. Fear and a strange regret. Kagome was young yet, still a teenager physically the burden of her responsibility made her appear older. As her skin began peeling from her bones the memory of her vow ceremony wavered in her vision, bringing a resolve she never knew she held.  
  
The final moments of her death were mercifully short, Kagome watched as Naraku thoroughly searched her corpse for the Shikon no Tama. She took pleasure in his enraged screams when he found nothing. The evil youkai had never truly understood the responsibility of the bearer to Shikon no Tama, he never grasped the ties that bound the bearer to the jewel.   
  
As Kagome's spirit departed her body she carried the jewel with her still, as she had sworn the jewel was tied to her soul. Until she placed it into her replacement's hand Kagome herself was the Shikon no Tama.  
  
The strange months that followed left the spirit battered, Kagome had little control over her new form and spent much of her time learning how to move again. When she began her travels anew Kagome came to a slow realization about humanity in general, they were too easily corrupted. Wherever she turned, no matter where she searched, she couldn't find someone fit to bear the Shikon no Tama.   
  
As she began her weary travels towards her homeland she met someone new. Kneeling over a freshly dug grave was a regally dressed inu-youkai, an older male who seemed utterly desolate as he wept over the unmarked grave. KAgome slipped closer, unsure of the situation, unable to understand why there was need for such a secret burial.   
  
The old youkai could see her, when he straightened from the ground his eyes connected with hers. A puzzled frown flickered over his stoic expression as he took in the bedraggled spirit before him, a mere slip of a girl who glowed with strange power, power he had never seen before despite his advanced years. Power that pierced the veil between the living and the dead.  
  
His kindly demeanor dragged Kagome's story from her lips, her plight as she sought to find a bearer for the Shikon no Tama so she could move on. Her despair as she found humans who were too weak to withstand the strength of mind and soul it took to carry the Shikon no Tama within your soul. The old youkai listened with a distant expression, his mind mulling over the sad tale of the spirit beside him.   
  
Who killed you child? he asked serenely, noting the rage that flickered in her tear-washed gray eyes.   
  
A strange youkai named Naraku.  
  
The inu-youkai froze at the name, the briefest flash of memory tugging at him, nagging him... The name left a strange hollowness in his heart, an empty abyss that threatened to swallow him whole. Shrugging off the strange shadow that passed over his thoughts the old youkai withdrew the sword at his side, placing it across his knees as he met Kagome's inquiring gaze.  
  
I can offer you an alternate solution, he began calmly, toying with the plain sheath in his lap. If you allow me to seal your spirit into this sword it will grant you the time and the body you need to finish your task. noting the frown that crossed Kagome's features the old youkai smiled gently, his eyes were kind as he withdrew the sword from its sheathe.  
  
I will die soon, and my youngest son will suffer greater peril then his fate allowed if he does not claim his birthright. Yet I fear he lacks direction. the youkai's eyes closed at the thought of his brash younger son all alone.   
  
I believe it would be a fair enough trade, you help my son find his place in life as he is, and he will help you find a proper bearer for the Shikon no Tama. the youkai smiled warmly, he saw the spirit considering his proposal, her eyes cloudy with mixed emotions as her fingers absentmindedly drummed against her knee.  
  
I agree. she pronounced abruptly, I will give your son, the sword's future bearer, my aid as the protector of Shikon no Tama, and he will aid me in my final task. she nodded firmly, pushing aside her lingering doubts.  
  
Rising to her feet she faced the old youkai proudly, her arms crossed as she waited for him to tie her to the sword. As she watched the youkai draw the sword from its sheath a gasp escaped her lips, as the blade emerged it grew, elongating into a large fang that oozed inu-youkai power.   
  
What is it? Kagome questioned, stunned at the display. The sword gleamed before her as the youkai caressed the blade's edge.   
  
This is Tetsusaiga, the steel cleaving fang. I created it from my own body as a birthright for my son. the youkai was calm as he urged Kagome to place her hands on the blade, watching as the young girl's spirit was slowly drawn into the sword that was once his own fang.   
  
I will hide you and Tetsusaiga in a safe place until my son comes to claim you. the youkai began, You will know him easily enough, he's a temperamental hanyou. he saw startled gray eyes fly up to meet his as the last of Kagome's soul slid into the the blade he held.   
  
Swinging the sword experimentally the old youkai sighed, gazing at the grave of his beloved second wife, his younger son's mother. He could sense his death approaching, the chill he experienced after hearing Naraku's name told him it would not be peaceful. His sons would not have it easy. Shivering as the night air crept in with the evening fog the old youkai sheathed his fang for the last time, using a small tendril of power to seal it within himself.   
  
When the time came Inu-Yasha would have need of Tetsusaiga and Kagome. Smiling in grim satisfaction the old youkai made his way towards his castle, where his young son wept for his mother still. A now familiar chill wormed its way up his spine, sending shivers through his frame despite how tightly his tail was wrapped around him.  
  
Naraku would be coming for them soon.  
  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Yes I will have all the characters in here eventually, no Kikyo will not be an evil embittered spirit bent on exacting revenge on her kind of ex-boyfriend.   
  
I hope you guys like this and I appreciated the people who reviewed the first really short chapter (I was just tossing a small idea out there to see what people thought, I didn't know the response would be so positive!!) I'll make more detailed thankyous in the next chapter.   
  
Thank you for reviewing and I hope you like this chapter better, once I'm done outlining the AU better I'll probably start doing longer chapters. 


	3. Hanyou

Disclaimer - I don't own Inu-Yasha and company  
  
**Author's Note**  
*bows in apology* I in the middle of a horrible cold and had difficulty remembering what I was writing due to the wonders of nyquil. I hope everyone enjoys the new chapter and I hope to hear from my readers (begs for reviews... I looove reviews!!). I promise I'll do review thanks in my next chapter, I just had so little time recently..... gomen ne to the kind people who took the time to say such kind things about me!!!  
  
  
  
Chapter Three - The Hanyou  
  
On a chill winter's morning Inu-Taisho arose from his bed and called for his armor. Ignoring the confused looks of his servants as they snugly attached the ornate metal plates to the body of their lord.  
  
Centuries of peace held the Western Lands during his reign.  
  
The year had begun to show on the elderly youkai, lining his elegant features with a faint latticework of wrinkles. His eyes had begun to dull as his thoughts embraced past memories, rarely stirring from his huddled position by the fire. Rarely leaving his opulent chambers.  
  
Shrugging his armor into place he flung his chamber doors open, stalking through the halls of his castle, saying little as his advisors flocked to his side. As he stormed down the passage his voice echoed off the calling for his sons to attend him.  
  
The cold hearted heir to the Western Lands arrived first, his robes settling around his graceful form as he silently entered his father's presence. Sesshoumaru rarely softened his expression, retaining the chilly detachment despite the swiftly deteriorating appearance of his sire.   
  
The hanyou swiftly followed, traditional red haori settling around his lanky frame, still trapped in the ambiguous features of youth. The youkai in him shone brighter then the human blood of his mother. A feral grin swiftly flickered over his lips, amber eyes gleaming with anticipation.   
  
Inu-Taisho said little, gazing silently at his two sons as they exchanged brief poisonous glares at one another, the stench of mutual hatred filling the air.  
  
began the elderly youkai, his voice serene as his elder son swiveled towards him. As Inu-Taisho casually removed the ancient sword he wore at his side and tossed it to his heir he allowed a wry expression to cross his features.  
  
As my heir you will need Tensaiga by your side. the brief expression of disgust that crossed the delicate features of Sesshoumaru's face amused Inu-Taisho, a sword that couldn't kill was of little use to his heir. Yet he bowed his head to his father, his clawed fingers clenched around the worn leather sheath of Tensaiga.  
  
Turning to his favored child he took in the nervously twitching ears of the hanyou, amusement colored his voice as he called his second child to him.  
  
the hanyou's mother was human, frail for even her own race she brought joy as the second wife of the great youkai lord. Giving him her heart as well as a son who brought laughter in the waning years of Inu-Taisho's life.  
  
The full blooded youkai family could only summon horrified disgust towards the mortals in their midst. Inu-Taisho's first wife was unable to handle the shame of being replaced by a human, her bitterness festering within until she brutally murdered the hanyou's mother. Ripping off his mother's head before his eyes as he screamed for help, futilely beating his small fists against her arms as the sickening sounds of flesh tearing mixed with his mother's terrified screams.   
  
The hanyou was never the same afterwards, the once laughing kind child who ran freely through the halls became withdrawn. Arrogance hiding his gentle nature, using his temper to shield himself from the taunting whispers of the youkai family. His father could only watch the changes wrought in his son, unable to comfort the child for a loss they both shared with equal pain.  
  
The sporadic twitching of the hanyou's ears betrayed the turmoil of emotions beneath the arrogant exterior. As father and son faced each other for the last time there were few words between them, as Inu-Taisho handed his young son the wax sealed scroll he placed his hand atop the silver haired head.   
  
The hanyou wordlessly caressed the worn parchment of his father's gift, fingers tracing over the family crest melted into the crimson wax seal.   
  
_Inu-Yasha, read this message when fate darkens your path.  
  
_ was all Inu-Yasha had to say, unsure of the strange feeling behind his father's words. A scroll he wasn't supposed to open until he was lost, a predictable move by his father who always enjoyed having his sons solve the various riddles he presented them.   
  
The attack came that evening.  
  
Long after Inu-Taisho departed his castle and kin to search for his final resting place his family gathered for the traditional funeral feast. Forced gaiety filled the chamber as the members of the inu-youkai family spoke in hushed tones, brittle laughter cracking through the air despite the hushed atmosphere.   
  
Death was meant to embrace a youkai in the heat of battle, living a life of near immortality forced many breeds of youkai to seek lives filled with warfare. Replacing the fear of old age with the heat of the kill, the thrill that could be found in the crush of bodies as war raged around you. For Inu-Taisho to die a death of simple old age stunned many of his family, forcing them to acknowledge they were only long lived. Not pure immortal.  
  
As they family struggled to grieve for one of their own they never noticed the strange mist that slowly slipped from beneath the chamber doors. Purple tendrils of poison vapor that slowly melted ones flesh from the bone, sucking the air from the lungs as the fell screaming to the floor.   
  
The youkai Naraku made his entrance as the inu-youkai fell, stepping over their bodies with careless disregard as he made his way to the intricately carved throne that presided over the room. His chilling laughter filled the castle as the rooms filled with his poisons, killing any who breathed air within the stone walls.   
  
Sesshoumaru's mother forced him through the servant's entrance, commanding her only child to escape as she covered his exit with her own body, choking on her screams as the vapor lapped around her legs. As he made his way through the twisting passages traveled by the human servants of the castle the young lord felt rage stirring in his chest, swearing to destroy Naraku he departed the castle, scaling the stone walls easily to descend to the surrounding forest.  
  
The hanyou was far more fortunate, having left the castle shortly after his father's departure, belongings slung in a pack over his shoulder as he dashed through the dense forest that surrounded his home. He knew nothing of the attack by Naraku, or of the fate handed to his youkai family. The ridges of the scroll left by his father dug into his shoulder blade through the heavy canvas of his sack, silently nagging him as he departed the western lands without a backwards glance.  
  
Three months later the hanyou was sitting in a dim lit tavern when he learned of the attack by Naraku. Sloshing wine over his scarlet red haori as he jerked to his feet the hanyou ignored the stares of the other patrons. Grabbing the neko-youkai who was laughing among his friends while telling the tale of the inu-youkai clan's downfall.  
  
As the frightened neko babbled the rumors he heard of the western lands the hanyou said little, his eyes glowing with rage as he threw the visibly shaking youkai to the side before stalking out the door. Leaving the village that night he made his way home.  
  
When Naraku took up the reins of power in the Western Lands he beckoned the youkai of nightmares to his fold, in droves they came to his side. Feasting on humans as they passed, destroying the paradise of vegetation they crossed through.  
  
When the hanyou arrived at the border of his former home he found a barren wasteland, scorched earth left unprotected, the peaceful plains and forests long destroyed.   
  
Naraku destroyed everything, hunting the humans who remained within his borders with relish, feasting on the flesh of mortals without remorse. Many people fled towards sanctuary, making homes in surrounding kingdoms, waiting for the young lord Sesshoumaru to make his move against the interloper Naraku.  
  
Sesshoumaru resided to the South, finding sanctuary with the nobles of the Southern Lands who willingly aided him. Giving the dethroned youkai armies and supplies to help him regain his title.   
  
Sesshoumaru wasn't happy to see his half-brother at his door one morning, taking in the trembling form of the hanyou with a shuttered gaze.   
  
Sesshoumaru, why didn't you tell me? the hanyou pleaded, his eyes haunted as he remembered the desolate wasteland he left behind.   
  
The older youkai sighed, Inu-Yasha, you are aware it is most difficult for this Sesshoumaru to find you when you leave no trail to follow? the sardonic tone in his voice was lost on the grieving hanyou, the two brother allowed a strained silence to fall, tension thick in the air between them.  
  
I opened the scroll father gave me. Inu-Yasha interjected abruptly, clawed fingers clenching the folds of his haori. It concerns Tetsusaiga.  
  
Tetsusaiga... Sesshoumaru felt his jaw tense at the mention of their father's sword, the steel cleaving fang that held the powers of Inu-Taisho. The sword Sesshoumaru needed to reclaim his title. Although Tensaiga swung at his side still, a sword that couldn't kill no matter how hard the strike was useless to the deposed lord.  
  
The hanyou smiled grimly as his brother's swiftly emotions betrayed themselves in his scent. Although the words within the scroll would mean little to the emotionally detached Sesshoumaru the final message left to the hanyou by his much loved father buoyed his spirits.   
  
_Inu-Yasha, seek my grave to claim Tetsusaiga... wield my fang to cleave your own path...  
  
_ the hanyou began, leaning against the door frame with his pack at his feet. I will return with Tetsusaiga. the arrogance in his tone was undiminished as he met the poisonous glare from angered Sesshoumaru with casual amusement. I will aid you in your battle if you need our father's fang.  
  
The young lord paused, checking his temper as he took in the abrupt offer from his younger brother. Why would you help this Sesshoumaru? was all the youkai asked, his tone bored despite the underlying tension in his voice, matching amber eyes clashed with one another as the half-brothers silently battled wills.  
  
Father would want us to get along. shrugging the hanyou turned away, shouldering his pack with ease. Sesshoumaru allowed silence to surround him as he watched the hanyou smoothly leap into the air, the sleeves of his haori flapping in the breeze.   
  
Father would want us to get along hm? he murmured, his eyes shuttered as Sesshoumaru returned to depths of the barracks, preparing for yet more drills with his borrowed army.  
  
The confrontation with Naraku would come.   
  
He would have to be ready.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Inu-Yasha stared at the young woman standing before him, the soul of Tetsusaiga? A human resided within the blade of a youkai? The blade created from one of Inu-Taisho's own fang?   
  
A little over a year's worth of searching through seedy taverns and human villages left the hanyou weary of his travels, finding his father's scent by chance when he was scaling the mountain ranges deep in the northern lands, the bones of the great lord were entombed deep within a cavern. Hidden from sight by layers of earth and rock.  
  
The scent of the dead filled the many chambers within the cave, clinging to the strange human woman who stood so vibrantly before him. The hanyou sighed wearily, settling beside his sword as he fixed the girl named Kagome with a stern gaze.  
  
Tell me everything wench.  



End file.
